


Okita Sougo and His Eye Mask

by Nohbumeh



Category: Gintama
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-23
Updated: 2016-12-23
Packaged: 2018-09-11 08:28:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8971933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nohbumeh/pseuds/Nohbumeh
Summary: A story of Mitsuba giving Sougo his trademark eyemask and the years to come after that. Based around Mitsuba arc.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I did this for shinsengumi week over at tumblr at the beginning of this year. Please enjoy!

He remembers the first time he received the eye mask he so frequently wears. The red frame with the black eyes stitched into it. He had been young, about thirteen or so when he first received it from his dear, beloved, sister. It had been a birthday gift. He had complained that the light was too disrupting to his sleep, not thinking that aneue would go out of her way to buy him an eye mask that was hand crafted and stitched thread by thread, and custom fit just for him.

“Sou-chan, close your eyes,” she told him, her features mirroring his own. He was never big on celebrating his birthday, as they never had enough money to afford a big celebration. It was already enough just getting by and the boy wasn’t ignorant enough to understand that money was scarce but aneue always found a way to give him something, no matter how many times he told her that he was just happy being with her.

He remembers the moment she gave it to him. He had been jubilant, taking the fabric into his hands and carefully turning it around, rubbing his thumb against the stitched fabric. She smiled at him, and he enveloped her into a hug.

“Thank you, aneue.”

He remembered leaving his sister behind, as he left the countryside and traveled with Kondo Isao and Hijikata Toushiro, soon forming the Shinsengumi. He remembered how he’d keep the eye mask close to him at all times. Three years had passed since he had received the eye mask and the boy found himself cherishing it even more. He was sixteen and his life had become more difficult. When he took down criminals, he’d have it stuck in his pants pocket. When he had killed for the first time, he had brought it to his chest and hugged it, providing a warm sense of comfort, while silent tears streamed down his face. When he felt that all hope was lost, he examined it and remembered the past times that he and his sister shared before and after he had met Kondo and Hijikata. He wore it when he couldn’t sleep and soon he became known for having it. It became his trademark, one of the most notable things about him besides his sadism that the Shinsengumi members were all too familiar with. He eventually started to wear it on patrol, often seen lazing around on a bench, the red eye mask plastered onto his face, shielding the light from his eyes.

He hated when people grabbed it. He was selfish and stubborn. His dear sister had given it to him and he wouldn’t accept other people touching his precious gift. Poor Yamazaki had picked it up one day and soon found himself with a sword at his throat and a very pissed off and sadistic Sougo fuming behind it. Yamazaki made sure to never touch it again, once Hijikata had to convince the boy that it wasn’t worth it to kill Zaki. Yamazaki had never been so scared in his life, not even when Hijikata was after him for playing badminton when he wasn’t supposed to be.

At eighteen, his sister came to visit, announcing that she was to be married to Kuraba Touma. The boy had been in high spirits at her visit, showing her around Edo and spending any moment he could with her while she was there. When the boy found out that his sister’s health was decimating, the flaxen haired boy became unstable. His precious sister was dying and there was nothing he could do. When he found out that her fiancée had used her to try to manipulate the Shinsengumi from behind the scenes in order to facilitate his own illegal dealings with Joui extremists, he remembered destroying the car that Kuraba Touma was in, eliminating him in the process. He remembered visiting his sister at the hospital, watching as her health declined right in front of his eyes, her cold hand reaching out to his, as he took it into his hands and pressed it to his cheek, trying to feel her touch one last time before she was gone forever. He remembered crying for the first time in years as his sister succumbed to her death.

He remembers six years ago when his beloved sister gave him the eye mask he holds so dearly. He looks back on those six years and what has become of him. He has accomplished so much in those six years, since he had left his sister and joined Kondo and Hijikata. He finds himself crying underneath that same eye mask that his sister gave him out of joy and he soon finds himself wearing it on the days he’s missing her the most.


End file.
